About

Jonah was born with muscular dystrophy. At nineteen he learned he had cardiomyopathy, a life-threatening heart complication that would require a heart transplant. “I don’t want to just sit here and wait for something bad to happen, that’s silly. I’m just going to go do something,” he said. Jonah used the next eight years to become a standup comedian, visual artist and mayoral candidate for the City of New Orleans.

“I think people expect me to be a certain way and then when I’m not, either they’re surprised and find it funny or they’re even more uncomfortable and don’t like it.” Jonah would laugh at the assumptions associated with him as someone relying on a motorized wheelchair. “People think that you’re not supposed to be confident. They think you’re in a bad situation so why are you not being like that?”

The short documentary Jonah Stands Up will use a combination of observational footage of Jonah and his family at home, his performances, his sketch comedy videos, and an animation inspired by Jonah’s visual style to give a well-rounded glimpse into Jonah’s world.

This short documentary will explore vitality and mortality, ability and disability, and finding humor in it all.